Eastern Newt: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Newts and Salamanders · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. Eastern newts carry a toxin, tetrodotoxin, that makes them taste bad to predatory fish and crayfish. The bright orange young warn them off.
2. On an average night, an eastern newt moves about 15 m, and the longest trails recorded were over 70 m.
3. Only about two out of every hundred larvae survive to become the bright-colored eft.
4. A female eastern newt lays 200 to 400 eggs in one batch, sticking them to underwater plants. They hatch after 3 to 8 weeks.
5. Eastern newts are very sensitive: they can sense how clean and how warm their water is, and react when it changes.

The quiz

1. What stops predatory fish and crayfish from eating eastern newts?

• The newts hide underground
• The newts are too fast
• The newts are toxic (correct)
• The newts glow at night

A toxin in their body makes them taste bad to predatory fish and crayfish.

2. About how far does an eastern newt travel on an average night?

• 70 m
• 15 m (correct)
• 2 m
• 400 m

On an average night, eastern newts move about 15 m.

3. How many larvae survive to become an eft?

• About two out of every hundred (correct)
• About half
• About nine out of ten
• About one in a thousand

Only about two out of every hundred larvae survive to become the eft.

4. How many eggs does a female lay in one batch?

• Between 5 and 10
• Between 20 and 40
• Between 2,000 and 4,000
• Between 200 and 400 (correct)

A female lays 200 to 400 eggs in a single batch.

5. What can eastern newts detect and respond to?

• Distant thunderstorms
• Changes in water quality and temperature (correct)
• The songs of frogs
• Changes in moonlight

They sense shifts in how clean and how warm the water is, and react to them.

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